Near And Far
by PatatoMan
Summary: A year and a half after the main storyline, the Hero(Hunter) finally gets the chance to try and settle down with the love of his life, but when things go awry, will he be able to put an end to the chaos of two worlds, or will he finally meet his match?
1. Chapter 1: Reuniting

**Chapter 1: Reuniting**

"Let's get this over with," the boy muttered to himself, "Venator finish it!"

At the boy's behest, the brown, orange vivosaur bit down into the soft flesh of the smaller stegosaurs neck. A flash of light was seen as Lexo turned back into its dino medal. The crowd cheered wildly for the boy, and he smiled in return.

"The winner is Hunter!" cried out the voice of announcer P.A. Leon.

"Another exciting match won by this star of a fossil fighter!" Slate commented.

After the match, Hunter returned to the main lobby to find two of his best friends, Rosie and Holt, arm in arm and hollering for him to come over there.

"Good job out there champ," Holt said, "but you'll need to be a lot better to even have a shot at me."

"Holt, Rosie's hat could beat you in a fossil battle." Hunter laughed back.

Holt turned red as a beet while Hunter and Rosie laughed for a minute.

"So, how have you two been? Haven't seen either of you since you left for vacation last week." Hunter asked after the laughter subsided.

"Well, not much, really, we just got back yesterday and figured we'd check on the star of Vivosaur Island." Rosie said.

"Yeah, she stole the words out of my mouth" Holt added.

"Thanks for that, guys, it's good to see you again."

The trio of friends embraced briefly before parting ways to their separate homes. As Hunter was walking back to his hotel room, he saw a familiar blonde standing in the lobby. Hunters face lit up when he saw her, and he felt her white dress was even more elegant than usual. As he walked up to her she took the first words;

"Hello," she awkwardly said, "it's been a while, huh?"

"It's been a few months, yeah." Hunter replied. "What've you been up to?"

"Well, apparently, moving a few hundred thousand people onto an underdeveloped island is challenging, at best." she said with a sigh.

 _She's wearing her disguise still,_ Hunter thought, _I wonder why that might be_

"Why are you still in disguise?" he asked, and judging by her reaction, he realized he didn't say it as tactfully as he'd hoped.

"Well…" she shuffled uncomfortably and said, "I don't really know, I just… I thought I would need it…"

"You don't around me." he said before pressing down on her pendant, causing her disguise to fade away. Hunter stared, mesmerized by the subtle shifting of her hair, dress, skin and her eyes, and before long his gaze was facing two bright yellow eyes. He admired her blue skin and pink hair for a moment, and allowed himself to smile.

She stared at him for a brief moment before smiling back and embracing him. Hunter paused for a heartbeat before he returned her embrace, and the two stood in each others arms for a minute, neither wanting to leave the other. After that minute was up, Duna untangled herself from his arms and stepped back .

"Do you want to go to the secret harbor and watch the sun set?" Hunter blurted out before she left him again. "I-I mean… y-you don't have to if you don't want…"

"I have some time to spare before I need to be back, besides, I came here to see you anyways." She said, watching his cheeks turn pink as he struggled with the words.

As they walked to the harbor, Hunter began to think of what to tell her to try and make her stay. Every part of his brain told him that it was impossible, that no matter what he did or said, she would always leave him, eventually. They arrived quickly enough and sat on a bench together. He flashed back to the first time they were there, when she asked him why, when he had told her he would always be there for her, no matter what. He thought of those times, of that night in particular. He thought of the feeling of her body pressed against his, of her blue lips pressed upon his cheek, and of the emptiness that was left inside of him after she left. He smiled and blushed when he remembered that, and entwined his fingers with hers.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she asked, confused.

"I missed you." he said with a smile.

Duna blushed slightly before replying with;

"I missed you, too."

She leaned into his shoulder as the two of them watched the sun go down. They gazed in awe at the swirls of oranges, blues, pinks, and yellows. For the first time in a long time, he felt happy. _This is perfect…_ Hunter thought. _I missed this feeling… I need to tell her how I feel one day, but that day isn't today._ He looked at the Dinaurian resting on his shoulder, and felt the hole in his heart repair itself. And so they sat there, holding onto each other until the colors of the sky began to blur into a bluish-black color. They both stood up and looked knowingly into each others eyes.

"Tonight was nice, thank you for asking me here." She said clumsily.

"You're welcome," Hunter said, "when can I see you again?"

"I'm not sure..." Duna said, "Maybe tomorrow?"

"Same place?" he asked.

She only nodded curtly and embraced him very briefly before she walked out of their spot and pressed her pendant to teleport her back up to the ship. Hunter stood at the dock still, not wanting to leave. Despite his will, however, drowsiness got the better of him and he headed back to the hotel to sleep. When he entered his room, he fell down onto his bed and fell asleep, still with the memory of their meeting in his head.


	2. Chapter 2: A Long Day

**Chapter 2: A Long Day**

The boy woke before the sun did the next morning. He knew his friends would be sleeping at this hour, so he decided to get breakfast from a nearby diner. The boy sat and looked over the menu while waiting, remembering her favorite thing to order. When the waiter came over, the boy told him he was ready to order.

"Can I get the Omelete Special?" Hunter asked.

"Yes, sir," the waiter answered, "and to drink?"

"Just water for now, thanks"

The waiter nodded before heading back to the kitchen to deliver his order. Hunter became entranced by the candle at the center of the table, watching the flames dance around the wick, and before long he was remembering back to when she helped him revive the master of flames.

 _Now with the lava gone, we can save Vivosaur Island._ He thought. _I hope we're not too late…_ He headed into the Northwest Tunnel to search for the rock, turned on his sonar and noticed a red blip a few paces ahead of him. He walked up to it and swung his pick into the ground to dig up a perfectly intact Ignosaurus fossil rock. He was overjoyed with his find until Captain Bullwort and his BB Bandit goons arrived and shot the rock with an Imperva Ray. He ran back to the cleaning room, but no matter how hard he tried to dig out the rock, nothing happened, and, eventually, had to tell him to stop before he broke his tools. So there they sat for a while, thinking of ways they could revive the fossil. Diggins got the idea to superheat the rock to soften it up, but felt that it could destroy it in the process. They were on the verge of giving up hope when a blonde girl in a shining white dress walked in. She pulled out some type of weapon and shot the fossil rock with it. Diggins looked at the rock and noticed that it was normal, then he proceeded to hoot and holler with joy. Hunter just stared at the woman, confused.

"Don't look so shocked, boy," she said, "you saved my life, I am merely repaying the favor. We are even now. Goodbye."

"Sir?" The waiter said when he arrived with his food.

"Yes?" Hunter said, only half there.

"Your food is served." the waiter said before placing the plate on the table.

"Thank you."

He took the first bite and smiled at the familiar taste of melted cheese, perfectly scrambled eggs, peppers, spices, and bacon all mixed together. The heavenly blend of all these flavors reminded him why these were her favorite food. After he had finished, he asked for the bill and payed the amount it cost. He walked outside, took in a breath of fresh air, and watched the sun as it rose into the sky. Checking his watch he saw the time read 7:53 AM, about the time he would be getting up on a normal day. Since it was still early, Hunter headed over to the guild area to try and kill some time before the dig sites opened.

"How may I help you today, sir?" The clerk chimed as Hunter walked in.

"Any new fossil rocks for sale?" the boy asked.

"Take a look."

Hunter saw an Elasmoth head, a Seismo tail, some T-rex arms, a Pachy head, a Tarbo body and legs, a Krona tail, and a Sucho body.

"How much for the Tarbo parts?" Hunter asked.

"5000g apiece, interested?"

"I'll take them."

"Pleasure doing business with you."

"As always."

Hunter took his new prizes back to the Fossil Center where he talked to KL-33n and set to work cleaning the fossils. With a 98pt body and 93pt legs, Tarbo would be powerful when Hunter found its head. The boy checked his watch and saw the time read 8:27 AM. Perfect, the dig sites should be open by now, I could go digging for an hour or two and then fight a Fossil Battle or two. He thought to himself. Hunter then headed over to Beth and Sue and asked for a boat to a dig site. When he boarded the boat, a familiar face greeted him.

"Hey, Hunter, where to this time?" Captain Travers asked.

"Greenhorn Plains, please."

"You haven't been there for quite some time." he said.

"It's been a while, yeah."

Travers stayed focused on the water as he got Hunter to his destination. Hunter had some time to think to himself. He remembered the thrill of cleaning that first fossil, of reviving Spinax, of digging up fossils at Greenhorn Plains, of meeting her, of helping her, of seeing her.

"Well, here we are." he finally broke the silence that had fallen over them.

"Thanks, Travers." Hunter said.

The old Captain nodded in response, and wished Hunter luck before sailing back to drop off the next recruit. Hunter walked to the pay-to-dig site at the back of the main site. As he walked there, he saw a young boy digging up a fossil and he could tell by the look on his face that this was his first real fossil find. Inside his mind he remembered back to those days and chuckled. When he arrived at the pay-to-dig portion, he paid the entry fee and collected as many fossils as he could hold, finding several earth and neutral types. He used the VMM's teleporter to get home and headed to the fossil center to clean the rocks he collected.

When all was said and done, he had a Tarbo, a Carno, a Neo and a Centro. Hunter was content with that and headed over to the Richmond building to check in on his friends. When he entered he saw Mr. Richmond walking up to his office, though he walked over to Hunter when he saw him.

"Hunter, my boy," he said with his usual jolly smile, "what brings you here this time of day? Nothing bad, I hope?"

"No, sir, just looking for Rosie or Holt, have you seen either of them?" Hunter asked.

"Well, actually, Rosie mentioned something about a Safari and Holt." Richmond replied with a look of rememberance.

"So she's off in the Greenhorn Plains Safari with Holt, then?" Hunter asked.

"I believe so, my boy, maybe you all could set something up for tomorrow, then?" Richmond said.

"Yeah, that'll be alright, thank you sir." Hunter turned to leave, but before he started to walk out, Richmond said something that shocked him.

"You know, Hunter, I always assumed that you and Rosie would have ended up together, I thought you two always looked happy in each other's presence."

Hunter stood with his mouth gaped open for a second before remembering his manners and replying with;

"I just thought of her as a friend…"

"That's the way of the world sometimes, my boy," Richmond said, trying not to upset him, "I lost more than a few ladies by having that mindset, and, I trust I can be frank with you by now, you are about to lose your second chance as well."

"Y-you mean Duna?" Hunter blurted out before turning red and cursing himself for letting that slip.

"Well, I don't mean to burst your bubble sport, but it's been a year and a half since you saved the world from Guhnash, and even the most patient human girls would have moved on by now." Richmond said carefully as he studied Hunters face for any emotion showing.

"Thank you for your input, sir, I'll keep that in mind" Hunter replied as he walked out of the Richmond building. Maybe a fossil battle will keep my mind off of that for now. He thought. Hunter walked into Fossil Stadium and told Wendy that he wanted to register in a Fossil Battle.

"Okay," she said, "you've got a match in about an hour."

"Thanks, Wendy," Hunter replied with a smile, "you're the best."

She smiled at that and waved him off as he left for his hotel room. He checked his watch on the way and set an alarm 45 minutes from then, at about 1:36 PM. He had just barely entered to hotel lobby when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Hunter, could you help me with something?" Dr Diggins voice cut through the lobby like a knife blade through warm butter.

"I've got about 45 minutes to kill, sure." Hunter replied.

"Okay, thank you," Diggins said as he turned and began to walk out at a fast pace, "keep up!"

Hunter sighed to himself and followed back to the Fossil Center where Diggins entered his office and began frantically looking for something in that mess of a room he calls a workspace. Hunter noticed several things on the ground that looked suspiciously like dino-cake wrappers and empty coffee packets, but he stayed silent as Diggins threw paper after paper around before he turned to face Hunter.

"Um… You don't think you can help me find this, do you?" He asked desperately.

"Help you find what, Doc?" Hunter replied.

"It's a packet of papers that detail my research into Dinaurian battle armor, but I can't find it anywhere…" Diggins said as he went back to worrying at the desk he was previously at.

J _esus, and Duna thought_ my _room looked messy… I wonder what she would say if she were seeing this…_ Hunter laughed at that thought, causing a panicked to glance over at him with a mad shine in his eyes, making the bags under them seem that much more pronounced.

"Something funny, Hunter?" The Doctor asked.

"Not particularly, no." Hunter quickly answered, starting his own search.

He dug around the first table he saw and read through the titles, and as he did, he saw that some were funny, some were cool, and others were, well…. _Teleportation, Dinosaur Waste Biofuel_ , an extremely dusty copy of _VMM's_ , _A Brief Theory of Mass Teleportation_ , _A Theory on Vivosaur Reproduction_ … all these and dozens of others were coating every surface that was in Diggins' lab. The next table was covered in mostly weird ones, but after enough digging Hunter caught a glimpse of the word Dinaurian and grabbed that stack before realizing it said _The Life Cycle of a Dinaurian_. Hunter blushed and put the papers down. It was another 10 fruitless minutes of sifting through Diggins' old junk before he found the papers that the Doctor was raving about, and just in time, because when Hunter looked at the man, it looked like he was about to go mad, as he was talking to the papers, asking them to show him where his theories on Dinaurian combat armor were.

"Dr Diggins?" Hunter cautiously said. Diggins remained quiet as he muttered incoherently to the papers in front of him.

"Dr Diggins?" He tried again to no avail. "DR DIGGINS!"

That got his attention as Diggins immediately snapped out of his trance and looked over at Hunter.

"I found the papers you were looking for." Hunter said to Diggins' confused expression.

"Ah, thank you, Hunter." Diggins said as he walked over to get them. "As I was saying, these documents are my thoughts on how to recreate the Dinaurian battle armor."

"Um…" Hunter said nervously. "You didn't tell me any of that, but you did tell your paper friends over there."

"Oh?" It took him a moment to understand what Hunter had said. "Oh! My apologies, I haven't slept in a day or two."

"A day or two?" Hunter echoed.

"Okay three or four, whatever!" said as his left eye began to twitch. "I haven't gotten a wink since I started my research and if I had lost it, well, I don't quite know what I would have done, but it wouldn't have been pretty and I might have destroyed some of my other files and we just can't have that, now can we? No we can't because all of this research is so important to…"

"Sorry for interrupting, , but why am I here again, exactly?" Hunter broke in before he lost Diggins entirely to his inner thoughts.

"Mhmmm? Oh yes, I had nearly forgotten!" Diggins exclaimed. "I want you to be the first human to use this new device!" He searched his pockets for a moment before pulling out first a handful of coffee packets, which he promptly scattered over the floor, and then a pendant that vaguely resembled the one that Duna, Raptin, King Dynal, and almost all other Dinaurians wore. He placed the pendant into Hunters hand and closed the boys fingers around it.

"Don't lose it," Diggins joked, "I won't be able to make a replacement for a day or two."

"Just make sure you get some sleep in, Doc." Hunter replied.

Hunter checked his watch, and it read 1:18 PM. He cancelled his alarm and walked into the Common Room of Fossil Stadium. As he sat, waiting for his name to be called, he decided he would take a look at the pendant had given him. It was shaped like a diamond on a playing card with many deep grooves and notches that formed a shape resembling a Breme dino medal. He decided not to use it in this match and instead use his default set of three, Spinax, Megalo, and S-Raptor.

"Next up we have the star of the island himself, Hunter! Against him will be a renowned fighter from the nearby Caliosteo islands, Sam Tresces!" Commentator P.A. Leon announced excitedly.

"And what do we have here today, P.A.?" Slate asked.

"Well, today, we have a clash of the titans. Both fighters are well renowned from both of their home islands, and we'll see who prevails today as it seems both fighters are ready and about to throw their dino medals." P.A. said.

Hunter threw out his three vivosaurs, with Spinax in the AZ, and Megalo and S-Raptor in the SZ. Samuel threw out a unique team of Saichan in the AZ, and Goyle and Pelto in the SZ.

"And calculating the LP totals, it looks like Sam will go first!"

"Saichan use fire spear on Spinax!" Sam commanded.

Saichan began launching bits of molten rock at Spinax, and the large predator was impacted by nearly all of them and gave out a roar of fury towards the attacker.

"Spinax, you alright?" Hunter asked the vivosaur.

It gave a loud roar in response. _Lets try to get that Saichan out of there…_ He thought to himself. _If I could swap S-Raptor into the AZ, I could try to knock it back to the SZ and take the fight to Pelto, and then I can deal with the other two without an attack penalty._

"S-Raptor switch into the AZ and use S-Combo!" Hunter said. The vivosaur made good on its orders and knocked the Saichan into the SZ, forcing Pelto to move into the AZ. Hunter smiled and ended his turn. Sam became slightly nervous, but kept his composure and told his Pelto to attack. Rocks bombarded S-Raptor and it was hurt fairly badly by the bombardment.

"S-Raptor attack Pelto!" Hunter called out. The Sinraptor charged Sams vivosaur and bit down into it before kicking it and then coating it in flames. The Pelto returned to its dino medal as Sam felt a drop of sweat fall down his neck.

"A well timed move by Hunter, Slate." P.A. said.

"Quite, P.A., now lets see how Sam can make a comeback here." Slate said.

"Goyle use wind spear!" Sam called out. The Gargoyleosaurus obeyed and launched air blasts at S-Raptor, causing it to revert back into its dino medal.

"A trade, though not one that favors Sam at the moment." Slate pointed out.

When Hunters turn started again, Spinax came back into the SZ, and Hunter told Megalo to use its combo on Goyle. The megalosaur charged the small ankylosaur, bit down into it, and then rammed it with its shoulder. The smaller vivosaur looked shaken, but was still standing.

"Megalo, switch out with Spinax!" Hunter said, and when the vivosaurs followed his command he added, "Spinax use cyclone!"

The large predator unleashed huge gusts of wind from its maw, buffeting Goyle and causing it to revert back to its dino medal. Hunter ended his turn as Pelto moved into the AZ and unleashed its fury upon Spinax. The rocks crushed into it and it was definitely feeling the hurt, but it endured, barely. Spinax let out a roar and then blasted the other vivosaur with wind, but it didn't hurt it much, if at all.

"Pelto, finish Spinax." Sam ordered. Pelto did as it was bid, and knocked Spinax back into its dino medal form. This is going to be a close one, then… Hunter thought.

"Megalo use Null Breath!" Hunter shouted. The creature released a gas that coated Pelto, causing it to panic and look around wildly in terror.

"Earth Spear, Pelto!" Sam called out. Pelto didn't attack, and instead quivered with fear.

"Megalo, finish Pelto!" Hunter told his vivosaur. The megalosaur wasted no time running towards Pelto and biting and ramming it back into its dino medal.

"A smooth victory by Hunter, P.A." Slate announced.

"That it was, Slate, that it was." P.A. responded.

"Thank you all for watching and we'll see you back next time." Slate concluded.

Hunter walked back to the Common Room and headed to his locker, where he put back his Vivopad, a device that lets you see your FP and vivosaur LP. He then started to walk out before Sam came up to him.

"That was a good fight, Hunter," he said while extending a hand, "they don't call you a star for nothing."

"You're pretty skilled yourself," Hunter replied while shaking his hand, "maybe we can have a rematch one day."

"Oh, definitely, that was awesome." Sam replied happily. "But not today, the rest of the day is booked with battles already."

"I'm looking forward to it," Hunter said as his stomach screamed at him.

Sam laughed for a few seconds before he said;

"You want to get something to eat?"

"Sure, why not?" Hunter replied.

The two walked to the nearest diner, which was, oddly enough, called _Fossil Fuels_. The two walked in and sat at a table. A waiter soon came and both of them ordered their meals.

"So, Sam, how are you enjoying Vivosaur Island?" Hunter said, breaking the ice.

"Well, it's quite impressive, actually, I wasn't quite expecting everything to be so… Elegant, I suppose." He said while gazing at the vivosaur carvings all about the diner.

"Yeah, I didn't expect it to be this way when I first arrived, either, though I wasn't as good a fossil fighter as you were when I showed up." Hunter laughed.

Sam laughed briefly as well before saying;

"I hear there's a lot of competition here, so I decided to come and train before the Caliosteo Cup."

"Caliosteo Cup?" Hunter asked, confused.

"Yeah, it's going to be a massive tournament to show who is the best fossil fighter on the Islands." Sam explained.

"Oh, that sounds interesting," Hunter responded, "when does it open?"

"Piqued your interest, didn't I?" Sam asked. "It starts later this year."

"How much later?"

"About seven months, give or take" Sam said as he furrowed his brow.

The two chatted for a few more minutes before their food arrived, and then both dug in to their meals. Hunter into his bacon cheeseburger, and Sam into his turkey burger. The boys split the tab evenly, said their farewells, and headed off to their homes. Hunter was almost to the hotel when he received a text message from her. It read;

 _I'll see you you know where in a few_

 _Oh, crap, I almost forgot._ Hunter thought, _I better head over there._ He walked to their safe haven as rain began to fall. Before long a blue skinned girl with pink hair materialised out of seemingly nowhere and he walked over to her to embrace her. The two held on for a moment before letting each other go. Hunter noticed she had an upset look on her face.

"Something wrong, Duna?" he asked her.

"I hate the rain…" She told him.

"We could go back to my room, if you'd like." he told the girl.

"That'd be okay." She responded.

So the two of them ran back to the hotel room, all the while the steady drizzle turned into a vicious downpour. So much so that by the time they got into the hotel lobby, both of them were soaked through.

"I didn't know it could rain like that here…" Duna said, her yellow eyes wide with disbelief.

"Yeah, it's been a month or two since the last downpour like that." Hunter replied.

"I'm kind of glad it rained that badly, though," she shuffled her feet, "it means we can relax in your room for a while."

"We should probably change into dry clothes, huh?" Hunter said.

"That would be nice, give me a minute okay?" she said as she pressed her pendant and beamed back up to the ship, presumably to change into dry clothes. Hunter, meanwhile, walked into his room and took off the soaked clothes he had on and put on a fresh pair. He then walked into the bathroom and hung the wet clothes on the top of the shower door. Before long he saw a familiar shape appearing in the living room.

"You have anything in mind?" she asked him.

Hunter nodded and walked to the couch, beckoning for her to follow.

"Come on, let's watch a movie or something." he said.

"Sure, why not?" Duna cheerily replied as she followed.

Hunter scanned his movie cabinet until he came across his favorite film, Real Genius, and placed the disc into his DVD player.

"This movie is my favorite." he told her as he sat down on the couch.

As the film began, Duna said to him;

"You're the best friend I've ever had, Hunter."

 _Even the most patient human girls would have moved on by now._ Richmonds words echoed in his head as he felt a shiver down his spine. They watched the remainder of the movie from the couch, sitting so close they could feel each other's bodies with their own.

"Thank you for tonight, Hunter." She said formally.

"You're welcome, but, please forgive me for asking but…" Speak, you idiot! Get the words out, it's now or never. "Do you, um, do you want to spend the night or something?"

"I-I uh…" She said, shocked. _Damnit, Hunter, you blew it!_ He thought before the shock gave way to giddiness.

"I would be honored to, Hunter." Duna said with a smile.

"I could take the couch, and you can have the bed if you want to do it like that." He said.

"Such a gentleman," she said with a laugh, "okay, sounds like a plan, thank you again for tonight."

Before she went into Hunters room she planted a kiss on his forehead and whispered into his ear;

"I'll see you in the morning."

Hunter made himself as comfortable as he could on the hotel couch, but even with the drowsiness from the long day, a single phrase haunted him as he tried to sleep.

 _Even the most patient human girls would have moved on by now…_

 **Authors Note:**

 **This one just didn't want to end. It was fun, but I ran into several road blocks called my attention span, but I have some ideas for the next chapter, and with the power of Queen and Hall and Oates on my side, I will have that up ASAP.**


	3. Chapter 3: Friends in Need

**Chapter 3: Friends in Need**

The world was not the world, and yet it was. The boy saw birds on a branch, the boy was a bird. Feathers of blue, pink, and yellow-black surrounded him. The tree was shaking, the tree was the world, and yet it wasn't. He saw the monster had returned to finish the job, he saw her blue feathers fly away, saw her pink and his yellow-black feathered wings all leave him. He heard his doom incoming, saw its massive jaws headed for the tree. He tried to fly but couldn't, his ankles were bound to the tree and his wings had no feathers. He screamed as the massive mouth engulfed his tree.

Hunter woke with a violent jerk, covered in sweat and screaming. He blinked several times before realizing the dream was over, and adjusted to the light in the room. He remembered where he was, and glanced around the main room of the hotel, his eyes resting on the clock that read 10:23 AM, before noticing a pair of yellow eyes studying him from the kitchen.

"H-how… um… how long was I…" He tried to speak, but the words didn't come.

"You were screaming and thrashing wildly for about an hour." The girl told him, cautiously. "How many times have you had a dream like that?"

"I'm not sure, really…" Hunter answered solemnly.

"When did they begin?" She probed.

"Well, the first time I had it was about…"

"A month ago?" She cut him off.

Hunter stared at her, confused. He wasn't sure how or why just yet, but somehow she was having a similar dream to the one he was having. He then nodded and looked off at his wall, trying to think of why. Just as he was about to say something to her, his phone rang, and Hunter went to answer it.

"Hello?" He said.

"Hunter? Thank goodness. I've been calling for the past 20 minutes, are you okay?" He heard Richmond's voice on the other end.

"Uh, yeah, sorry Mr. Richmond, I just woke up, what's wrong?" Hunter asked as he began to piece together the reason Richmond would call him this early.

"It's about…"

"Rosie and Holt." Hunter finished.

"Well, yes, I don't know where they are, they said they would be back last night around 8, but I don't know where they are and they didn't return any of my calls. I called the police, but they said they need a period of 48 hours before they can look into it" He said.

"I'll look into it for you, sir." Hunter said after a moment's pause.

"Thank you, my boy, I thought you might, I'll let you know if we find anything else." Richmond said as he hung up the other end.

"What was that about?" Duna asked.

"Mr. Richmond, he said that Rosie and Holt are missing." Hunter explained.

Duna's eyes widened as she said;

"Oh, no."

"The last place they went was the Greenhorn Plains safari." Hunter said.

"Okay, let's go." She said with a fierce determination.

"Alright," Hunter said, "let's go."

The two made their way to Greenhorn Plains. The vast expanse of greenery made Hunter pause a moment to admire it, until he remembered why he was there. The two friends walked towards the Safari entrance. It was a modest sized arch with vivosaurs from all over the Island decorated on it. Duna and Hunter walked up to the staff member working it.

"Can we enter?" Hunter asked.

"No, the Safari is currently closed for the time being because of an order from Mr. Richmond."

"Actually, about that, Mr. Richmond told us to investigate the Safari." Hunter tried to explain.

"Like I'd believe that," The staff member snorted, "look, Hunter, I know that you're close with Mr. Richmond and all, but you can't just go wherever you want, there are systems…"

Duna sighed and reached into her pocket to pull out the note that Mr. Richmond had left with her in Hunters hotel room earlier that morning. The guard's eyes widened as he stopped talking abruptly.

"My apologies, Hunter, Duna, I was just trying to follow orders, please, by all means." He said as he opened the gates for the pair.

Just as Hunter and Duna were walking in, they heard a voice from the distance, one Hunter recognized.

"Hunter!" He heard Sam's excited voice. "What a nice surprise to see you here."

"Hey, Sam, how have you been?" Hunter replied.

"I'm doing good, thank you for asking. Are you going on the Safari?" He asked right as he noticed Duna was there. "Oh, hey. You're a Dinaurian. What's your name?"

"I'm Duna." She replied fearfully.

"Nice to meet you." Sam said, extending a hand.

Duna glanced over at Hunter for a second.

"He doesn't bite." Hunter teased.

Duna blushed, embarrassed, before shaking Sam's hand.

"Actually, Sam, we were going to investigate the disappearances that happened here." Hunter explained carefully.

"When was there a disappearance?" Sam asked, so shocked that his usual cheerful demeanor faded into one of a serious manner.

"Yesterday two of our friends," Hunter said, gesturing to Duna, "Rosie and Holt, went on the Safari and didn't come back, although everyone else that went out did."

"Well… shoot." Sam said quietly. "Could I tag along?"

"Sure, why not, we could use an extra pair of eyes." Hunter responded.

And so the trio set out to search for their lost friends. They looked over everything they could, but the problem was that the whole Safari area was a sprawling grass field, with herbivorous vivosaurs roaming freely with small forests and shrubs. They ended up getting lost a few times before they decided to split up.

"Are you sure we should?" Duna asked.

"I think we can cover the most ground this way, it'll make it easier to find things, and if we do, we can yell for the others to regroup." Hunter said. Sam nodded and Duna reluctantly agreed to Hunters plan.

Hunter scanned the plains for about 15 minutes before deciding to check the forested areas. As he weaved his way through the surprisingly tight tree line, he saw nothing living, not so much as a bird or squirrel, and felt a chill crawl down his spine. He looked around him, checking everything within sight, and yet he saw nothing but trees. After a minute to regain his senses, he decided it was nothing. That was until he felt the energy drain from him as he heard a raspy voice inside of him.

 _I'll see you soon, Hunter_

He nearly jumped out of his skin and looked all around him, but saw no-one. He put it off to being on edge and continued his search. He looked in the forest for a while longer before giving up and continuing the search in the plains. The sun was starting to fall at this time and Hunter hoped the trio found Holt and Rosie soon. Hunter saw that while the vivosaurs were walking all over the park, that none of them were in a particular section towards the northernmost forest, which was a very large group of trees, more like a true forest than the small, dense group he had previously walked in. When he arrived at the spot, he saw claw and scorch marks coating the floor, and trees were smashed and cracked all around him. The boy felt odd about this and looked around for a minute until he found a familiar hat. The hat was badly burned, but he could see the pink that was left on it. Hunter then went back to the plains and called out for Sam and Duna to regroup. Sam appeared in a minute, but Duna was nowhere to be found. The two waited for five minute before searching the section she was investigating. It didn't take long for them to find a note. Hunter picked it up and read it aloud;

 _"If you want to see them again, go back to the woods."_

"Did you find anything else?" Sam asked, curious.

"Just Rosie's scorched hat." Hunter said glumly as he showed it to Sam.

"Well, I guess we have to go back there, huh?" Sam asked.

"I guess so…" Hunter replied.

The two boys set out to find their friends. Hunter led Sam to the scorched battle spot where he found Rosie's hat, expecting to see that same empty field as before, but when he and Sam arrived, he couldn't have been more wrong. The pair were confronted with a team of 3 vivosaurs that weren't vivosaurs. They were all mechanic, like Dinomatons, but they didn't look like them. The point "vivosaur" was based on T-Rex, the ones to its sides were based off of Acro and Carchar. Behind the robots, Hunter noticed a humanoid figure in front of three cages that appeared occupied. As Sam and Hunter pulled out their dino-medals to fight, the figure threw a ball at them that exploded in a pulse that made their dino-medals turn colorless.

"What was that?" Sam said as he quivered.

"I-I'm not sure," Hunter said, shaking with nerves, "I think it disabled our dino-medals…"

"Is that even possible?" Sam asked.

"I don't know…" Hunter said.

"What are we supposed to do?" Sam asked.

"Stand back." Hunter told him as he stepped forward, a brave and stupid idea having formed in his mind. _Please let this work!_ He thought to himself as the robotic vivosaurs moved in to attack. Hunter pulled out a trinket that had given him and pressed on its center. Hunter noticed a burning sensation in his limbs, he felt a stretching of his limbs, his body was being reformed, his insides were being burned, and his screams of agony turned into a roar of rage as he was now a larger version of Breme. The man standing behind the robots was shocked and he looked confused.

"How did you manage to do that?" He asked, confused. "You are a human!" Hunter roared in response and looked over to the cages with his new powerful eyesight and saw that Rosie, Holt, and Duna were the ones in the cages, and while Rosie and Holt looked afraid, Duna was fascinated by Hunters transformation. He then looked to his side to see Sam pull out his phone and dial three numbers into it.

"No matter, you can't win anyways." The man chuckled as he pressed buttons on his wrist mounted computer, similar to a Vivopad, but looked different somehow. The robotic T-Rex moved towards Hunter and opened its metallic maw, from which it shot out a white beam that Hunter jumped over with relative ease. _My turn_. He thought as he ran forward and slashed at the robot's body and head, leaving deep grooves in its outer shell, revealing the circuits and fuel lines hidden beneath. Hunter then took advantage of this as he clawed and bit the larger things exposed weaknesses, dodging its strong yet slow jaws until it began to lose its strength. Its bites came less frequently, and the noise its jaws made when they shut became quieter and quieter until they stopped entirely. The other two charged at him, and Hunter was struck with a savage bite on his left arm. The shock from the wound paused him for a moment, allowing him to be hit by another white beam, blasting him back into a tree. He felt his strength in his new body begin to falter, before he remembered what he was fighting for, and he unleashed his fury upon the Acro-based robot. Fire spewed out of Hunters mouth until the machine was burnt through, its circuits exploding from overheating inside it. Just as he was piecing together where the last robot was, a blast of white hit him on his right flank, causing the right side of his body to be badly injured and slamming him into another tree on his left, damaging his left arm further. He tried to stand, but collapsed back down again.

"You can die knowing you put up a good effort, Hunter, but it's not enough," The man said, "you can't win and your friends will never see anything after today." The man laughed maniacally as he watched Hunter struggle to his feet. The Carchar robot stared him down as he looked at his friends troubled expressions, Rosie was holding Holts hand through the cages as she sobbed, Holt held on to her hand and watched what he believed was the death of his friend, Sam was still standing back, watching the scene unfold in front of him with a terrified look on his face, and Duna…

Duna stood up in her cage, pressed against its bars with her face contorted with mixed feelings of rage and sadness. Her yellow eyes were large and puffy, her face was covered in trails of tears as fresh ones were being generated and falling down the old paths. Hunter felt a new energy flow through him, a violent energy, full of rage, hell-bent on bringing down those who meant to harm the ones he loved. He let out a loud roar of challenge to the robot, which responded with its own cry, louder and more powerful than Hunters, though it was full of less emotion. Finding his feet, Hunter covered his body in fire and charged through the final robot, cutting it near clean in half. As the two halves of the metallic beast fell, Hunter took a few steps forward before collapsing once more, reverting back into his human form as he heard the distant cry of police sirens heading towards him.


	4. Chapter 4: A Rough Week

**Chapter 4: A Rough Week**

Hunter was drifting in and out of consciousness for what felt like forever. He caught passing glimpses of equipment and heard the occasional voice before going back under. He didn't know if it was the drugs or his injuries causing him to pass out, but he was grateful for it. It was an eternity of not knowing what was happening, confusion, pain, then nothing again. All of his memories swirled in his head until they became so intermixed he couldn't tell one from the other. Eventually, the sluggish soup that had been his reality gave way to the real world.

Hunter blinked open his eyes and saw he was in a much different place than the one he remembered. He saw a sterile, white room, rather than a field covered in burns and scrapes. The room was bright rather than dark, as there were lights, and he could see out the window that it was nearly mid-day. Hunter's observations, however, were cut short when he felt a massive migraine set in. As his head felt like it was being crushed, his left arm and the whole right side of his body felt like they were slashed open. His insides felt like they were on fire. He tried to speak, but his throat was raw, and no words came out. A doctor soon noticed the croaking noises he was making and walked over to his bedside.

"Would you like some water, Hunter?" The doctor asked.

"Ye… y...y…." Hunter tried to speak in a whisper, but then gave up when the pain forced him to stop and nodded in response.

The doctor walked through the door and Hunter was left, immobile in his bed. The pain became nearly intolerable until the doctor returned with water in his hand and noticed the agony Hunter was in. The doctor then walked over to the bedside and reattached the IV line to Hunters left arm. He felt the pain subside and his senses became clearer.

"Morphine helps." The doctor said as he carried the glass of water over to Hunters right side, handing it to him carefully.

"Sorry for not introducing myself," The doctor said, "my name is Dr. Peter J. Hill, but you can call me Dr. Hill." Hunter tried to speak again, but only pathetic rasps came out.

"Please, try not to speak, you nearly burnt your voice box out in that fight you had," Dr. Hill explained, "any more strain and they might tear for good." Hunter nodded glumly as he drank from his glass. When he finished, he set it down on the counter next to him and pointed at a notebook and pen on the doctor's desk, and did a brief air writing gesture followed by a questioning expression.

"Of course, I'm sure you have questions to ask." Dr. Hill said, nodding, as he handed Hunter the notebook and pen. Hunter instinctively moved his left arm to hold the notebook until he felt the pain, and realized it was covered in rows of small incisions. He stared at it in shock.

"Your arm was in pretty bad shape when you came in, its condition has improved dramatically, believe it or not." The doctor said. "The best solution we had was to stitch it up and hope that it healed, which it did, partially, it should be fully functional in a month at worst. For now, just try to use slow movements with it, if at all." Hunter moved his left arm slowly to grasp the notebook as he scrawled _my friends?_ Clumsily on the first sheet of paper and turned it to face Dr. Hill.

"Your friends are fine, they've been waiting for you to regain consciousness for a while." Hill said. Hunter sighed with relief, or at least that's the sound that he meant to make, what came out was a sharp breath, which caused him to cough for a moment. _How long was I out?_ He wrote on the next page. Dr. Hill frowned when he read it, preparing a statement.

"You were on life support systems for three days, and your body was covered with burns inside and out." He began slowly. "Then you were unconscious for the next three weeks, moving infrequently and spasming until today." Hunter didn't react at first, but then it all crashed into him like a train. _Three weeks? It's been three weeks?_ Hunter thought to himself, his eyes glancing around the room, looking for a calendar, something, anything to prove that it wasn't true. Dr. Hill noticed this, and tried to reassure the boy that everything would be alright, and Hunter calmed down after a minute or two, acknowledging the fact, before writing down one last haunting question he had. _Who was the man?_ Dr. Hill shrugged.

"I'm not sure, to be honest," The doctor said, "police apprehended him, but after a day of interrogations, the man had vanished from the cell without a trace. All the bars were intact, the bricks' mortar was still sealed, and everything was where it was the day before except the man.

"Strange circumstances, I know, but we don't know anything else about him." Dr. Hill added. Hunter nodded and wrote down the last thing he told Dr. Hill. _May I go back to sleep?_ The doctor nodded as he said;

"Of course, you will be happy to know that you will be released within the next few days after we finish running tests." The 'next few days' ended up being a week or so of study and tests on Hunters physiology and mental state… Hunter tried to be patient at first, but he couldn't disguise his boredom after the third day, and began to stare blankly at walls and floors, and pretty much anything in the room so that he could think to try and spend the time. The medical staff had left him with a television and books to read, but Hunter just wanted to leave. Dr. Hill soon caught wind of this and had a meeting with the other staff. It took quite some time, and Hunter was getting fidgety as he waited for it to end, worrying it was something bad, but when Dr. Hill returned to the room he told Hunter some very good news. Hunter was told, that the next day, he would be able to have visitors, and that he had sent out a message to a friends, telling them that they could visit him. The next day didn't come soon enough for him, but Hunter smiled nonetheless as familiar faces entered the room, which now seemed cramped due to so many people being in there at once. He saw Rosie, Holt, Sam, Mr. Richmond, Dr. Diggins, and Duna, towards the back, like a shadow.

Rosie gave Hunter a tight embrace, and Holt soon joined her, hugging their old friend.

"Too tight…" Hunter wheezed. The two backed off, embarrassed.

"Hunter, we're all so glad you're okay." Mr. Richmond began, "I'm also happy that you managed to save Rosie and Holt, though I do feel responsible for the harm done to you in the process."

"I, too, also feel responsible, Hunter," Dr. Diggins put in, "I gave you that pendant prototype…" Hunter's voice was starting to work again, but it still wasn't particularly loud or clear.

"It wasn't your fault." Hunter said as loudly and clearly as he could manage, though it still came out as a hoarse whisper. "I was the one who overextended myself, besides, if it weren't for that, all of us would be missing and me and Sam would probably be dead." Hunter coughed for a minute after he finished speaking. His friends waited for him to recover before continuing.

"Thank you for saving us." Rosie said.

"Really, it means a lot" Holt added. "That person disabled my vivosaurs with that stupid ball-thing. Rosie's team didn't have a chance against those… those things."

"But…!" Rosie started in indignation, but then gave up when she remembered how the battle went. "Yeah…"

"Yeah, thanks for taking care of that, man." Sam added, "I don't want to think about what would have happened to us if you hadn't stopped them." He looked at the floor and shuddered, clearly remembering the events of the previous month.

"Thank you for calling the police, that's what really saved us," Hunter said in a strained voice, "does the town know what happened?"

"Everyone on the island knows the whole story." Dr. Diggins explained. "It was on the headlines for a week right after the incident…"

Hunter became nervous thinking about the events that had brought him there, clearly, they had technology that was much more advanced than what was available to Dr. Diggins and the entire Richmond Foundation. If he hadn't had that pendant… he didn't blame Sam for not wanting to think about it. Hunter shuddered, and then someone caught his eye. He found her, standing in the back, silent like a ghost, and kept his gaze on her. The rest of the group noticed what he was directing his attention at, and, Rosie being Rosie, jumped on the opportunity.

"Hey, guys, how about we step outside for a moment so that Hunter can talk to his 'girlfriend'." Rosie teased. The rest of the group laughed at Rosie's comment. Hunter tried to say otherwise, but his red face and garbled stutters, drowned out by his friends' laughter, only proved Rosie's point to the others. They soon left the room, closing the door after them. After they had all exited, Duna walked beside him and clasped his hand in hers. Tears began to well up in her yellow eyes, and Hunter started to raise his arm to wipe them away, only to be stopped by the pain that shot through him when he did. Instead he just stared at her face and told her;

"It's okay, I'm alright."

"I-I know, it's just…" She stammered, "I was so worried about you, I felt like I lost a part of myself when you were… gone." Hunter took a moment to understand what she had just said. When it finally clicked, he smiled at her.

"Duna?" He said in as loud and clear a tone as he could. "After I'm out of here, would you like to… uh… would you like to go out with me?" She looked both happy and confused.

"I-I… I, um…" She stopped herself and gathered her thoughts, and many conflicted emotions appeared in her bright eyes, but after a while, she answered, "Yes, I would like that." Hunter's already wide smile grew even larger, and, for the first time in a long time, he felt fully happy again. She smiled back at him, released his hand, and hugged him. Hunter returned her embrace. He rested his head on her shoulder as she nuzzled hers into his neck. Eventually she pulled away, smiled down on him and asked with a chuckle;

"Should we let the others back in?" Hunter nodded slowly and she walked to the door to inform the others that they could re-enter. When they did, she returned back to Hunter's side, and her hand slipped easily into his.

"So, Hunter, do you still have that pendant?" Dr. Diggins asked. Hunter nodded.

"Yes, why?" He asked, his voice becoming more accustomed to use.

"I want to try and work out some of the kinks, so that it will be completely safe for you to use, if you want to, or, unfortunately more likely, _have_ to in the future." Diggins explained grimly. Hunter nodded in solemn understanding, released Duna's grasp for a moment, pulled out the pendant from his pocket, passed it to Dr. Diggins, and reattached his hand to hers.

"Thank you, Hunter," he said, "now I'm going to go fix this for you, okay?"

"Try not to stay up for three days." Hunter wheezed jokingly as the scientist dashed out of the room.

"Four!" Hunter heard Dr. Diggins distant yell from somewhere in the hallway. The whole group laughed, and Mr. Richmond checked his watch.

"It's getting late, why don't we let Hunter rest?" Mr. Richmond said. Hunter silently thanked the man because, frankly, he _was_ tired, but he also cursed him because he wanted to spend more time with his friends. Mr. Richmond left, followed closely by Rosie and Holt, who said their farewells before departing hand in hand. Sam soon followed suit, with a handshake and wished Hunter well before walking out. Duna remained with him, her hand still in his, and told him one last thing before she left;

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too." Hunter replied as he watched her walk out of the room and shut the door after one last look at him. Hunter then sighed, stood up from his bed with a grunt, and walked to get some water. He grabbed a bottle from the mini-fridge that he got Dr. Hill to move into his room, and walked back to his bed. He drank the bottle before wrapping himself in blankets and submitting to the call of the night. He was still thinking about her when the darkness finally overtook him.

In his dreams he was a bird, but he was more than just a bird. He was a bird on fire. He spewed fire out of his mouth at anything that moved, and he felt his feathers begin to melt off of his body and his insides were roasting.

Hunter woke with a jolt, confused. He saw that he was still in the hospital and relaxed slightly. He was sad that his friends were gone, but, as today was his last day, he wasn't sad for long. Dr. Hill came into his room after Hunter had eaten breakfast and told him that he would be released after lunch.

"You're test results came back mostly normal, except for your blood, which changed its makeup significantly." Dr. Hill told the boy. "It isn't fully human, anymore, it's more akin to that of Dinaurian blood, although it is not exactly the same. Your voice box seems to have fully healed, but you may have difficulties speaking at times because of its lack of use."

"So when do I get released, exactly?" Hunter asked impatiently.

"You are free to go at half past noon." Dr. Hill said in a laugh. "You have plans or something tonight?"

"Maybe?" Hunter said, pausing to think. "I think so. Yes."

"Alright, I'll see if I can get you out sooner, how does that sound?" Dr. Hill said.

"Thank you for…" Hunter's voice strained, but he paused and regained control over it. "Thank you for doing that for me."

"Look, I've been in your position before, I know you're a kid who wants to have fun with your life." Dr. Hill told the boy. "I've had a few more brushes with death than I'd like to admit, but that's part of the reason that I'm here. It was one in particular that quite literally sparked my medical pursuits."

"What'd you do?" Hunter asked. Dr. Hill laughed and said;

"I accidentally lit myself on fire trying to put out another fire. Had third degree burns for a few weeks, so I decided that I would try and help people that were unfortunate enough to be injured, which eventually broadened to helping all people that were ill or in pain, and here I am today. Now, to see about that early release…" Dr. Hill trudged off to the main lobby. Hunter was left to ponder what he would do, when the visit from his friends two days prior came back to his memory. He remembered being happy to see them all well, and he remembered what he finally worked up the guts to do. He thought of where to go, after a year and a half of waiting, he needed to make it worth it. Soon the perfect idea lodged in his mind and a mischievous smile rose to his face. Hunter's thoughts were cancelled, however, by Dr. Hill returning to the room.

"God, you have no idea it is to talk to those people." He said with a sigh. "At any rate, you're cleared to leave." He finished, gesturing towards the door.

"Thanks, doc." Hunter replied as he walked merrily down the winding halls of the hospital until he smelt the fresh air again. When he stepped outside, the sun hurt his eyes at first, and it took him a few seconds to adjust to its brightness. He checked his watch to see that the time was only 10:47 AM. He walked over to the park area to relax for a while outdoors before he had anything to do. He stood at the one place in the world where he felt like nothing could go wrong. Surrounded by hedges on all sides, leaning over the railing in front of the bench, he took a deep breath as the cool sea breeze drifted to shore. The smell of the salt, the sweetness of feeling that cold sea air chisel its way across his face, the sound of seabirds calling, and the soothing natural music of the waves lapping at the shore, he soon lost himself in thought about how he would contact her and what to say.

"Good to see you out and about." Hunter heard a voice from behind him. He turned as swiftly as he could to see a girl with pink hair, blue skin, and glistening yellow eyes. He smiled upon seeing her and embraced her. She returned it almost immediately and nuzzled his shoulder affectionately. They eventually let each other go and began to talk.

"How have you been?" Hunter asked, excited to see her.

"I've been okay, could've done with more sleep." She replied as Hunter noticed the small bags that had formed under her eyes.

"What's been keeping you up?" He asked.

"Mainly… It's just… Well..." She paused, thinking about what she should say. Hunter was just about to say something else or change the subject when she moved forwards and placed her lips on his. He wrapped his arms about her as she put hers around his neck, keeping him in the moment. They were one, they felt their thoughts, their feelings, and their heartbeats merge for that one brief moment before they let each other go to breathe. She stepped back, blushing, as Hunter put a hand on her cheek.

"It's alright," he said, soothingly, "I know. I know. It's okay." She looked confused, but eventually let herself relax, and calmed down.

"I never thought…" She began. "I never…" The dinaurian stopped herself again before trying again.

"I've never done that before." Duna said softly.

"Whatever it was, it was certainly odd, to say the least." Hunter said.

"It was an old Dinaurian thing. It's when a Dinaurian bonds with someone enough for them to become one, though the circumstances are different from person to person." She elaborated.

"What type of circumstances, exactly?" Hunter asked.

"Like I said, it depends on the person, for some people the trigger is danger, for others it's a feeling of thrill, for some extreme stress works, and…" She paused with bright red splotches invading her face as she finished, "for some it's a deep feeling for that person. Hunter picked up on the way that she clumsily mentioned it last, and how she flushed red after saying it. Hunter let a grin slide onto his face.

"What?" Duna asked in response, backing up a few paces. Hunter took a few forward and wiped the smile from his face to tell her something.

"I care about you, too." He said as he brought her in for an embrace, which she accepted as soon as she saw him move into it, and the two of them eventually split and were silent for a moment.

"So," she said after the moment passed. "What's the plan for today, then?" Hunter smirked again and his eyes flashed with mischief as he asked;

"Have you ever been to an amusement park?"


End file.
